


Tongue Tied

by ayemcantkillthisclockwork



Series: In Departing Day [2]
Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls Online
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Babies, Light Angst, Other, Toddlers, i wouldn't class her as a temporary mute tho, sotha sil is a proud parent and loves children you can rip it out of my bare hands, the 'ailment' is that she cannot talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-26 01:17:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18713548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayemcantkillthisclockwork/pseuds/ayemcantkillthisclockwork
Summary: Sotha Eleneth struggles with an ailment beyond mortal help.





	Tongue Tied

“Apple.” Sotha Sil brandished the piece of fruit in one hand, held gently between metal fingers.

Varen was the first, pointing his chubby arms into the air. “Apple!”

A piece was given to him which he gnawed on eagerly.

Nall followed seconds later, after inspecting the food for a moment. “Apple.”

Another piece which the youngest of the toddlers sucked on rather then bite. Sotha Sil smiled proudly then looked at his third child, whose tiny fists were clenched close to her chest and her nose scrunched.

“Eleneth?”

She opened her mouth and for a few seconds the Clockwork God held his breath. But then she quickly closed it and her face turned sour. Seht sighed and handed her a piece for herself, but even then he noticed she was not satisfied. She did not quickly eat it like she usually did just so she could get another one, instead almost angrily munching on the fruit, the metaphoric wheels in her head turning.

“She wants to say it, I can tell.” he said almost to himself, but the Bosmer behind him looked up from their book and sighed. He looked at them over his shoulder and his face softened at the disappointment clearly shown on their own. The bags under their eyes were another sign that they were taking this personally; when Varen and Nall flourished in their speech Eleneth had not spoken a single word.

At first the two had just brushed it off, just because they were triplets did not mean they had to talk at the same time, so they waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Then she began to grow frustrated herself and they knew right there and then that something was wrong. They could tell she was trying, desperately, to tell them what she wanted or who but it was like her mind and tongue were not connecting. She knew the words, they just refused to come out.

The tantrums came, and so did the tears and near vomiting sobs. But they could not do anything; Zenther refused to let Sotha Sil do anything. They had their first argument in years over it.

“You are not making anything that will hurt her in anyway!”

“It will not hurt her, it will simply connect her mind to her tongue.”

“A vocal box like your own?” they had pointed in the direction of his throat. He did not flinch or react, but he could tell they knew that they were right. “It’s not like she can’t communicate at all, Sil! We should leave the decision to her; if she wants it in the future, when she’s old enough to decide, then go ahead but not now! Maybe she just needs more time, give her more time.”

Yes, he could give her that.

But that was two months ago.

Zenther stood up from their place on the ground and gave him a strained smile. “Time to go home, I think.”

They didn’t say another word, not even bothering to stop him from using his magic to transport them all considering they were wanted them to actually keep walking and not just stop because their father can do That, and they went to work getting them ready for bed.

Sotha Sil just stood there, trying to think about how he could help, only registering Luciana sitting at the table when she spoke at Zenther’s return putting the triplets to bed alone. He would have helped, but he had completely shut off, the cogs in his brain whirring as he tried to think. For the first time in his long life he had no idea what to do.

“Still not speaking?”

“She knows what she wants, she just doesn’t know how to get it out.” Zenther ran their hands through their hair, slumping into a seat next to the apostle and staring at the table for nearly ten minutes in absolute silence. They looked exhausted, and then finally Luciana placed a hand on their shoulder.

“Go to bed.” it wasn’t a suggestion but a command she rarely gave. Zenther gave their dearest friend a tired smile and patted her hand in gratitude before standing and retiring. Luciana then turned her gaze to the still pondering Sil. “You too.”

He flashed his blood red eyes at her and then chuckled. “Goodnight, Luciana.”

He walked away and it took the Imperial only a few seconds to realize he was walking in the direction of the Throne Aligned. She let out a cough and raised an eyebrow. “Other way.”

The Clockwork God wordlessly turned on his heels and headed in the direction of his most recent addition to the Cogitum Centralis, his chambers, because Zenther refused to see him dead on his feet every single day. _“You’re not omnipotent, Sil. You need sleep just like the rest of us!”_

Not many people could understand why he loved them so, but one of the reasons was because they did not stand by and take his shit.

As his footsteps became further away Luciana let out a sigh. “Goodnight, my lord.”

The lights that illuminated the quarters belonging to the God and his family dimmed a little and the apostle decided that was the right time to take her leave. Standing, she made her way out and into her own room right next to Varuni’s.

She could hear the Dunmer whispering prayers through the crack under the door before heading to bed herself. The provost did it every night, her faith in the Tribunal unwavering, but Luciana didn’t know if the other two even answered her or any of their other worshipers. Seht hardly did; she knew that personally.

Luciana stepped into her room, the door shutting with an audible hiss behind her, and her eyes darted from the contraption that constituted as her ‘bed’ but was more like a charging station as if she was a complete fabricant and then to the altar that had been set up so many years ago which she hadn’t used in what seemed like forever.

She stepped towards it and looked at the small carvings of Almalexia and Vivec. They carried such weight on their shoulders but hope in all who prayed to them. She was just an imperial, not one of their people, but would it really kill her if she tried the other two gods?

Luciana clasped her hands together and closed her eyes.

“Urm, how does Varuni do it? Okay, I’ll just make it up as I go…ahem. Oh, Lady Almalexia-or is it Ayem?-Mother of the people, I call to you for aide. My dearest friend, actually one of my closest, has a child. Well she has three, at the same time, it’s rather strange. Anyway, her child cannot speak. She has not-she cannot-…the words will not form, like mine right now. We need help; is there anything you can do for the poor child?”

She opened one eye and stared at the icon of the God, but nothing happened.

No voice, no apparition, nothing.

She wasn’t expecting anything, her hopes were not high, but it was a little disappointing.

This was ridiculous. One of the Tribunal would never listen to one of her, look what happened to her son. This was not time to stir those old thoughts up; she had had years to wallow in hate and misery. She was moving forward now in her life and thinking about how it made her feel was not the way.

But yet, she felt different.

It had been there before but now that she had prayed to Almalexia, something was there. She wouldn’t have realized it if she hadn’t stopped thinking about Marius, stewing in her emotions for him, but the atmosphere had definitely changed. It was lighter now, peaceful.

“Is that you?” she pondered to the empty room but nothing answered. Just like before.

“Go away, Nall!”

“I no go away…Go away, Varen!”

The eldest and the youngest of the Sotha children were having a right yell at each other at breakfast. Sotha Sil was sat at the end of the table, tinkering away with something. Luciana sat next to Zenther, who had invited her like always, watching the display with amusement.

They had forgotten about eating, instead telling each other to 'go away’ and refusing to follow each others commands of leaving. Also they couldn’t 'go away’ if they tried, they were strapped tightly into highchairs.

Their sister was sat beside Zenther, hands clenched watching her siblings, absently using one of her hands to take a piece of bread in front of her and place it in her mouth. It was silent except for the whirring of cogs and the pistoning of pipes, and obviously the small voices of the two children.

A small hand patted Zenther’s shoulder. “Bwead.”

“Hmm.” they tore off a small piece and handed it to her without even looking up, but when the child did not take it they turned their head towards her. “Here, take-”

Their breath caught as they stared at the blinking eyes of their middle child, who just smiled. “Bwead.”

“You-she-she’s talking!” a happy smile broke out on their face and for the first time in a months, their eyes had a sudden glint in them. “She’s talking!”

“She’s talking?!” Sotha Sil’s head snapped up so hard it looked like he nearly gave himself whiplash. Hearing his second child and not third like he had assumed chanting 'bread’ caused his little invention to be quickly forgotten as he almost jumped to his feet to rush over to them.

“She-she’s talking?” Luciana stumbled over her words, watching the God scoop up his child and smother her small face with kisses. It was the most affectionate she had seen him, but apparently to Zenther’s lack of surprise it looked like it was a common occurrence in the privacy of their home. And Sotha Sil didn’t seem to care if his most trusted proctor was viewing all of it with a smile.

“She just-…talked!” Seht laughed, throwing the squealing toddler into the air. “Just like that!”

His next words caught in his throat as he looked at Zenther, who was taking the baby out of his arms as she began a round of 'Mama, Dada, apple!’ rather proudly. His eyes bounced from them, but looked away when it wasn’t what he was looking for.

Then to his other children, who were watching the display and clapping for their sister, 'yay!’ coming out of both of their mouths.

And lastly, Luciana. There his eyes settled but she chose to ignore him as she turned back in her seat to take a sip of her beverage. A soft, almost inaudible hum came from him but she still didn’t turn back around, hiding her smile in her mug.

Maybe there were benefits to having living gods after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Consider supporting me through ko-fi: ayem0745


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